I have a love/hate relationship with boss battles. On one hand, they are challenges that make you demonstrate certain masteries of the game that can be incredibly rewarding. On the other hand, they can be random and unnecessarily hard, and aren’t always integrated well into the game. Boss battles typically mark the end of a particular section of the game, resulting in the feeling like the game is fragmented into multiple pieces. When there aren’t huge battles at the end of each level, the game flows a bit more cohesively. Sometimes it’s the preference for games to be broken down into separate missions with a boss battle at the end of each. Other times, no one wants to deal with that giant battle that is giant for no particular reason. Boss battles can be very skillfully done, but they can also be very poorly crafted. I personally don’t mind boss battles. I think that certain games do them really well. I like how the Zelda formula gives you an item in the dungeon and then the boss battle is centered around that item. It can get redundant but it works. Other games, like Final Fantasy, typically just have absurdly overpowered bosses that look cool, but the battles themselves don’t have much finesse. If a game doesn’t have any boss battles, I won’t be upset. If it can find a way to test my abilities within the game in other ways, I’m all for it. I mentioned level grinding in a previous piece, and how having to run around fighting random low level enemies forever is a nightmare. Boss battles should be challenging but should still fall within the natural rhythm of the game. Timing and pacing are key and can really make or break a game. Some boss battles are great experiences, and finally clearing them are personal victories; other times they are awful and unbeatable, and end up in an unfinished game. I feel like games have come a long way in the evolution of the concept of a boss battle and I look forward to further development with the next generation of games.